“Everyone is leaving? Surely my behavior was not so objectionable that the guests are running for the nearest exit.”
“Will had to return to London and left at dawn. Georgiana needs to prepare for her debut, and, frankly, I am tired and in need of a rest.” Anne was in need of more than a rest. She was exhausted, and Mrs. Jenkinson was urging her to return to Rosings, especially since her mistress was taking drafts of laudanum to help her sleep.
“I actually would prefer to be in Kent,” Antony said after thinking it over for a few moments. “My daughters are with my mother in Ashford, and I could go visit them.”
Through all of this, Antony kept the cloth across his eyes, but Anne lifted it, so she might kiss his forehead, and her cousin took her hand and gently squeezed it. He loved this fragile woman more than he could say.
“You tell me Darcy is already gone? Damn! I had a message for him. An old friend of his from his time in France, the former Christina Caxton, is in London and wanted to visit with him.”
“Where is she staying?”
“With Mrs. Conway. Apparently, the late Mr. Caxton was a supporter of Whig causes, and since Darcy is of a like mind, I am sure that is how they met.”
“I do not know Mrs. Caxton, and at the moment, he has a lot to think about. But I shall break my journey in London, and I shall tell him. Visiting with an old friend might be exactly what he needs.”
Chapter 44
The picnic went much better than expected largely due to the presence of Colonel Fitzwilliam and the absence of Lord Fitzwilliam. Richard was so successful in diverting Caroline’s attention that Georgiana was beginning to wonder if there was more to it than just amusing a difficult guest. He had recently discussed with Will the possibility of selling his commission. But the only way he could leave the army was if he found a rich wife, and Caroline Bingley was very rich.
With Richard and Caroline engrossed in conversation, she turned her attention to the Hursts. But as soon as they had finished their lunch, Mr. Hurst found a comfortable spot under a tree and quickly fell asleep. As this was nothing out of the norm, Mrs. Hurst joined Caroline in conversing with the colonel. Compared to her calculating sister, Louisa was the most uncomplicated woman Georgiana had ever met.
Because Anne had decided to stay at the house to humor Antony, Charles and Georgiana found themselves looking to each other for company. With so much on their minds, neither had much to say.
Georgiana was thinking about how much her life had changed simply because she had reached her eighteenth birthday. Before leaving London, she had received a letter from Mrs. Reynolds with her recommendations as to which room each guest would use. Upon her arrival at Pemberley, she had to meet with Mrs. Bradshaw to go over the menus. A wise person never challenged Cook as she had been at Pemberley for more than twenty years and ran her own little fiefdom belowstairs. All these consultations were mere formalities because the servants were more capable than she in running the house, but they would not proceed without the master’s or mistress’s consent. But Georgiana did not want to discuss replacing linen with Mrs. Reynolds nor menus with Mrs. Bradshaw. She wanted to share with someone the excitement she was feeling about her upcoming debut and her dreams for the future as she had done with Elizabeth Bennet.
Following their ride to the Peak, Georgiana had shared with Elizabeth that she was penning a novel. Unlike her brother, Lizzy did not frown, but showed real interest in her story.
“The novel is about Pompeii at the time Mt. Vesuvius erupted. I have changed it a good deal since I started. Actually, I change it all the time. Thoughts keep popping into my head, and then I go in a new direction. Anyway, it is about two lovers who are kept apart because of their different places in society. Just when it seems as if they have surmounted all obstacles in their path, another woman enters the picture who is determined to keep them apart because she wants the man for herself, although he does not love her, which is evident to everyone except her. It is just at that time the volcano erupts, with its rivers of lava and suffocating gases, and ash and people running about willy-nilly. Amidst this chaos, the lovers must find each other. At first, I thought I should have the woman who interferes in their romance overtaken by the lava flow, but that seemed a bit harsh, even though she is not likable at all.”
Lizzy could hardly imagine who she was talking about. Although Georgiana was only three years younger than she, the difference in their ages seemed greater, probably because the daughters of society’s elite tended to live sheltered existences until they married. If Georgiana was typical of her class, she would have been coddled by nurses before being turned over to governesses and tutors and piano and dance masters, all in preparation for that first season where, it was hoped, she would find a husband from among the aristocracy or landed gentry. But there was something different about Georgiana. She had a bit of the rebel in her.
“Has anyone read your writings?” Lizzy had asked.
“Oh, no! Will does not approve of women writing novels because he says it degrades them, but I see nothing degrading in it. Frances Burney was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte, and Maria Edgeworth’s novels all have a moral to share. But I am not without hope as he is the first to admit that society is undergoing great changes. I just hope it undergoes them fast enough for them to benefit me.” Elizabeth had encouraged her to keep writing and asked if she might read it when she had finished the first draft.
“I would be honored if you would read my humble manuscript.”
Georgiana liked Elizabeth for many reasons, but she particularly admired how feisty she was. She had been greatly surprised when Elizabeth had talked back to Will at the stables. She had never seen anyone argue with her brother, and from their exchange, it was apparent that was not the first time they had engaged in an animated discussion. And from watching the two of them standing on the promontory, she was quite sure that his love was no longer unrequited. But now there was this horrible business with Lydia Bennet, and she was unsure what Will would do because it involved George Wickham. But there was no time to dwell on anything other than her obligations as mistress of Pemberley, and so she had to think about supper and that evening’s entertainment and not about Caroline Bingley fleeing for her life in a burning Pompeii.
***
When Anne went into Lord Fitzwilliam’s apartment, he was sitting in the same chair but without the cloth across his eyes, and he had color back in his cheeks.
“Gregg, why don’t you go to the kitchen and have some lunch,” Anne suggested. “I wish to speak to Lord Fitzwilliam.”
“Whatever it is, I did not do it, Anne. I have not been out of the room. Have I, Gregg?”
“No, Milord. You have been here since Miss de Bourgh’s last visit.”
“I have even been nice to you, Gregg, haven’t I?”
“Exceptionally so, Milord.”
“No need for sarcasm, Gregg, but do go and have something to eat.”
After his servant left, Anne said, “You do know that man is worth his weight in gold.”
“Which is about what I owe him in wages. I have encouraged him to find another position, but he tells me he enjoys the excitement and unpredictability of serving me.”
Looking around the room, Anne could see that she had interrupted Gregg’s packing her cousin’s clothes. “Antony, are you leaving Pemberley?”
“Yes. I am returning to town in the morning.”
“But I thought it was not safe for you to be in London because Mr. Lynton had challenged you to a duel.”
“Well, he is such a hothead that I am sure someone else has offended him in the interim. The reason I left town so abruptly was I feared he would actually come looking for me with a pistol and not wait for me to respond to his challenge. And if he calls me out again, I shall not fight. I do not mind being called a coward. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but I will not let Mr. Lynton shoot
me.”
“But you also said you were going to stay here until you had recovered.”
“Until I was sober, which I am. I have not been this sober since… I cannot remember that far back. But I have received a letter from my mother telling me she has found a buyer for the manor house, so I must return to London.”
“You are going to sell Briarwood, and your mother approves?” Anne asked in disbelief. Briarwood had been in the Fitzwilliam family for two hundred years. Its first incarnation was as a modest summerhouse built to escape the heat of London, but it had been expanded to its present size of one hundred plus rooms. No family, other than the Fizwilliams, had ever lived there.
“It was my mother who suggested it. We cannot live together, as she is an unrepentant scold. But we do like each other, and she knows of all I have done to maintain the estate. It is older, but not as beautiful as Rosings, and I cannot afford it.”
“But your father left you so much money.”
“He also left me with crumbling cottages, drains that do not drain, and a leaking roof. I have sold all our properties in Ireland and three hundred acres of parkland, and as I am sure you have heard, many of the paintings and antiquities. I was even forced to sell Grandmother Fitzwilliam’s portrait, but because it is a Reynolds, I was advanced a good price. I am sure Darcy will buy it back, as he always does the right thing, which is why I mentioned it to him.”
“Without explanation, I might add, which made you look very bad.”
“Why should I bother to explain? I will never win Fitzwilliam Darcy’s approval. I have wasted a good deal of money, and our cousin will not forgive me. Besides, the last time I was at Briarwood was nearly a year ago when Eleanor threatened to set my dogs on me if I came back. Now, that wasn’t right. She should get her own dogs.”
“Do you know who the purchaser is?”
“It would have to be someone like the Bingleys, who are drowning in money, as they are the only ones with the financial resources to make the necessary repairs.”
“But Richard knows nothing of this.”
“I know. But I did not want to give him the mistaken impression that he would have enough money to marry a woman who does not have a fortune of her own, such as Miss Pennington, the daughter of our solicitor.” Looking out the window, he could see his brother walking arm-in-arm with Caroline Bingley in the gardens. If Richard married her, he would be paying a high price for financial independence, but it could very well happen.
“This is all beside the point, Anne. I am returning to London, and you are going with me. You have circles under your eyes, and you are pale. You are the smartest person, male or female, in our family, and whatever you have got up to here at Pemberley, I am sure you have succeeded. Now, it is time for you to go back to Rosings.”
“It is out of the question as I cannot leave Georgiana. When she returns to London, that is when I shall return.”
“I am sorry, my dear, but I must insist, as Mrs. Jenkinson came to me last night to tell me you are taking laudanum, which you do not do at Rosings.”
“On occasion, I do take it at Rosings to suppress my coughing. I have taken it here because I do not want to cough in front of the Bingleys, as it can go on and on.”
“All the more reason to return to Rosings. Richard told me last night that he must return to his regiment, so, if necessary, I will leave Gregg here to see Georgiana back to town. I suspect the Bingleys will want to leave because Darcy is gone. Even if all remained, you need not stay as Jackson manages the servants as well as any colonel commanding a regiment. So you see, my dear cousin, you need not worry. We leave our young cousin and friends in good hands.”
***
Anne returned to her room to find Mrs. Jenkinson busy packing, so busy that she would not make eye contact with her mistress. Anne could never be angry with her companion, but she did not like it when others made decisions for her, which happened all too often with her mother at Rosings, and which Antony had just done. But there was something else that was bothering her, and when she realized what it was, she quickly returned to her cousin’s room.
“Antony, how do you know that Mrs. Caxton is staying with Mrs. Conway? Mrs. Conway is an important person in the Whig opposition, and you are a Tory. I would think your paths would rarely cross, if at all.”
“You are correct. I have never met Mrs. Conway. It was Mrs. Caxton herself who told me. Apparently, she knew our cousin from his time in France and remembered that his cousin was an earl. She sent a note asking if she could visit as she was trying to communicate with Darcy.”
“And you received a stranger without a letter of introduction?”
“Yes, and very glad that I did. She is an enchanting creature—quite beautiful with a lovely neck, and I imagine very long legs, my greatest weakness. She declared herself to be an old friend of Darcy’s, and I treated her as such. I did not speculate on their friendship, but if I had engaged in such an activity, I could easily have imagined them as being very, very close friends while in France, which makes her staying with Mrs. Conway quite interesting.”
“Antony, Will knows that you shared personal information about him with The Insider, and he was very angry. Please promise me you will never do that again.” The thought of two of Will’s romantic interests living together under the same roof would sell out the magazine as he was considered to be one of London’s most eligible bachelors.
“I can promise that quite easily, as it was more trouble than it was worth. But I was being pressed by my tailor, pun intended, and in need of ready cash. And I would like to correct the record. It is true I am guilty of telling the man from The Insider that Darcy was shortly to become engaged to Miss Montford, but my source was her brother, who assured me that the only thing left to do was to sign the marriage contract. However, I was not the source for the item about Darcy leaving Mrs. Conway’s house in the early hours of the morning. I am sure he was seen by the man from The Insider. You know he does hang about in the shadows hoping for a story. On more than one occasion, he has hailed a cab for me.”
“Maybe it would be best if we did not tell Will about Mrs. Caxton at the present time,” Anne suggested. “He does have an awful lot on his mind.”
“My lips are sealed, but since Mrs. Caxton knows so few people in London, I thought I might befriend her.” Anne frowned. “Do not concern yourself, my dear cousin, I am not at the moment inclined to take a mistress, especially one with no money. But I must admit, if money was not a consideration, I would be sending her flowers upon my arrival in London.”
Chapter 45
Although nothing new was known about Lydia, Mr. Gardiner convinced Mr. Bennet to return to Longbourn, where he could be of some comfort to his family and draw comfort from them as well. But before leaving for London, Mr. Bennet had promised that changes would be made, and he was as good as his word. When he saw Jane taking a tray up to her mother’s room, he ordered it back to the kitchen.
“Unless someone is ill, we take our meals in the dining room, and I will deliver that news to your mother myself. However, I would like you to tell her I will be visiting shortly.”
When Jane attempted to explain the fragile condition of their mother’s nerves, Mr. Bennet responded, “Your mother’s nerves have been my constant companion for more than twenty years, but we are about to part company.”
When Mr. Bennet came into the room, Mrs. Bennet pretended to be asleep, but her husband was not in the mood for games.
“I am not leaving, Fanny, so please sit up.” After a reluctant Mrs. Bennet appeared from under the covers, her husband continued. “My dear wife, I have done you a disservice all these years. You were very young when I married you, and I should have taken more care. But because I believed we would have a son to negate the entail and to see you through your old age, I went happily about my business and neglected my responsibilities as husband and father. As I am five y
ears older than you, it is highly likely I shall die before you, and because of our financial condition, you will have to live within your means. Since you have little practice at it, as of today, we will economize, so that we might put aside as much money as possible. You will better manage the house, which means that Kitty must wear her frocks longer, and baubles are banned forthwith. There is more, but we shall discuss it in detail at another time. I look forward to dining with you this evening.”
Mrs. Bennet did come down to supper, but her presence only served to shine a light on the tension in the family. No one seemed to want to make the effort to begin a conversation, so brief statements were followed by prolonged silences. Afterwards, everyone gathered in the front parlor, where Mary and Kitty were occupied by their newfound interest in needlework, and Mrs. Bennet was knitting a shawl, something she had not done in years. After Mr. Bennet retired to his study, Jane and Lizzy went to their bedroom so that they might talk.
“How has Kitty been bearing up under the weight of all of this bad news?” Lizzy asked her sister.
“Well enough. She was fortunate in that Papa went away so quickly, as he was furious with her when he learned she knew of Lydia’s intended elopement. I do believe she regrets that she had not acted differently when she received Lydia’s letter, but I doubt it would have made any difference anyway. But no more about Kitty or Mama or Mary. We have not spoken about you and what happened at Pemberley.”
Lizzy closed her eyes and smiled at the memory. “Mr. Darcy could not have been more gracious, and we easily fell into conversation as people do who have known each other for a long time. I was deeply touched by his affection for Miss de Bourgh and the care he takes with his sister, and Pemberley quite transforms him. When we walked in the gardens, I felt as if he had shed the hard shell he puts on when he is uncomfortable with his company, as he most definitely was at the assembly and at Aunt Philips’s card parties and at Lucas Lodge,” Lizzy said, laughing. “But the Mr. Darcy I knew so well in Hertfordshire was also present. He is used to getting his own way, and he did not like it when I would not give in to him.
The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy Page 23
